Consciousness and Free Will: An Online Discussion

Join us and for an online discussion of "consciousness" and "free will".
We will start by focussing on what science has to say about these topics and in the end, time permitting, venture into metaphysics.

Some of the questions to ponder:
Consciousness:
What is consciousness? (This is the most difficult and we will later post some provisional definitions)
How did it come about? Why does it exist?
Are there different types of consciousness?
Can we change our consciousness? (="altered states of consciousness")
If yes, how and why can we change our states of consciousness?
Is language needed for consciousness?
Are non-human animals conscious?
Could machines one day attain consciousness?
What happens to consciousness in deep dreamless sleep?
What about the sub-conscious? What role does it play?
How do we know all of this?

Free Will:
Did you join here through free will, or was your decision conditioned by past events?
Are our decisions pre-determined by our genes and environmental factors that modified those genes, and the external factors that influenced our young minds, leading to our likes and dislikes, and our prejudices?
Can we make any decisions not conditioned by our past?
If so, how?
If not, why not?
What are the implications for personal responsibility? For society?

Come share your knowledge or opinions on these topic, or just listen in the discussions:)

The session might last 1 to 2 hours or even longer depending on the interests of the participants, but you may of course leave earlier if you need to.

All participants are required to sign up here before joining the online meetup and need to turn on their video feed with their faces clearly visible.

Online link: Coming Soon